What motivates you to perform highly at work? Is it primarily the promise of financial bonuses that drive you? I’m willing to bet that – while a bit of extra money might be nice – it’s not your key motivator. I suspect you’re more likely to be motivated by feeling valued (perhaps being thanked or otherwise recognised every once in a while), or stretched and challenged, or that you’re able to make a difference and be creative. Does that sound about right? What else motivates you?

If you have staff, how do you motivate them to perform well? What sort of rewards and benefits (financial and otherwise) do you employ? There are some fantastic thoughts (and great animation) in this video, which focuses on a number of studies on motivation and presents some rather surprising findings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9p4o050EY&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Whilst I was already of the view that financial bonuses are not the primary motivation for most people to perform well, I was still surprised on watching the video that so many studies have reached the conclusion that financial imperatives can actually have a negative effect on performance. So what did you think? Did the video make you think again about your assumptions about what motivates people to perform well? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And if you enjoyed the animation as much as I did, why not check out the RSA’s website for plenty more on a wide range of subjects.